A Love Story
by Syrae
Summary: Every story is a love story... A complete AU story on how Harm and Mac met and started out together.
1. Epilogue

**AN: **Hey all! I know it's been ages since I've written anything, and I started this new story, but it's not completely finished yet, so updates will probably not be regular. Hope you'll forgive me for that. Decided that I'm going to do something complete AU this time, working with spare basics, so let me know what you think, okay?  
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Prologue**

"One latte, please," I ask the teenager behind the counter and start fishing in my bag for my purse. I am supposed to have it here somewhere. Notebook, a dozen pens, small first aid kit, paper tissues, Blackberry, cell phone, newly bought books, I-Pod, photo camera, lipsticks, tampons, and finally, my money. Seriously, the things a girl has to carry with her these days…

Smiling a small smile at the girl, I hand her a five-dollar bill and a few minutes later I'm out in the snow again. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I moved to Chicago because I _love_ this city; it's just the winters here that I hate. My entire family is scattered around the country, now I come to think of it, and my two siblings and parents are enjoying the warm weather somewhere in California. It's not that I don't like California, but I'm more a four-season person than a one-season one. Not that it matters. I go home often enough, so nobody is really complaining.

Dad was at first. Hated the idea that his little girl was moving half a country away, but he gave me the space anyway. Knew I really needed it. I look at my watch and realize that I'm already later than planned. Paula isn't going to be pleased. To be quite honest, I don't really care. My first book was a bestseller, and I stood my ground then. If Paula wants to re-write this second one… well, she going to have a hard time convincing me. Besides, she's just _one_ person. I'm the author, you'd think that I know what exactly I meant when I wrote what I wrote. I'm not worried.

My cell phone starts to ring, and I dig into my bag again. One of these days I'm going to have to give up large bags and get myself a smaller one. "Hello?" I breathe into the phone.

"Nairi, where the hell are you? I've been trying to call you for like forever." That's my best friend Soraya. My very happily engaged best friend Soraya. My 'don't you think it's time to settle down?' best friend Soraya. "Why haven't you been answering your cell?"

I roll my eyes and swallow my sip. "Been a bit busy, Sor. I'm sorry. I'm on my way to see Paula." Soft, white snow starts to fall again and I lift my face up to the sky. I love the snow. Especially in early January. Don't really like the whole winter season, but I can't do it without snow.

Soraya sighs. "Iri, you didn't forget my party tonight, right? I so totally need you to be here." Tonight is her engagement / show-off party. It's Soraya's party to show everyone that she finally tricked one of Chicago's former most-eligible bachelors. And she needs me for support. Right. Not really something I am looking forward to. But I'm afraid that I don't really have a choice.

"I've got to see Paula first, Sor," I say. "You know I really have to. But I'll do my best to make it a quick visit."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, promise." Great, so now I have to run by my apartment as well, to change. If there was something else I wasn't really looking forward to, it's that. But, it's for a good cause. After tonight, it's only nine more weeks to the wedding, and then all this will be over. Or so I hope.

"Okay, good. Make sure you wear your red Prada dress, all right?"

Oh, no. I'm not wearing my red Prada dress. Not in a million years. Not tonight. "Sor, I'm _not_…"

"Please, Nairi. For me?" When Soraya asks me to wear a certain dress, and especially my red one, it usually means one thing. She's going to set me up. She wants me to meet someone.

"Look Sor, I understand that this is your party and all, but I'm _not_ wearing my red one tonight. And you're _not_ going to set my up with someone." This has been Soraya's game plan ever since we met in college, seven years ago. She dates with the cutest guys, and then she sets me up with their best friends. But not this time.

"Iri, please? You don't want to ruin this evening for me, do you?"

Right now, in this moment, I honestly don't care whether or not I ruin your party tonight. "I can't even promise you that I'm really going to make it, but I am going to do my best. Just don't really count on it."

"You just promised me that you'd try to make your visit to Paula a quick one." I sigh, fold myself into the backseat of a cab and close the door, giving the driver the directions.

"Yeah, I know, and I will. Just don't expect me very early."

"I wasn't going to. You're going to love him!" Oh god, here we go.

"Listen, Sor, I really need to go, all right? I'll see you tonight."

"Wear the red one, Iri. The red one." It's the last thing I hear Soraya say before I break the connection. Leaning back in my seat, I take the last sip of my latte.

Soraya and I met in our first year of college. Became roommates, and went through pretty much everything together. We hit of immediately, and quickly became best friends. Now we're seven years down the road, and Soraya is engaged, and I'm not dating. While everyone around is almost starting to worry whether or not I'm gonna end up an old maid, I just don't feel like dating right now.

Been a bit busy with promoting my number one bestseller, flying across the country, giving interviews and everything. Then I locked myself away to write my second book. So, no real time to date. When Soraya met Nate, she was convinced that he was the one, within the month. Turned out that she was right, eventually. Nathan plays with the White Sox, and that's why Soraya counts herself so lucky. It's something I understand. But I couldn't possibly live in those constant spotlights.

Being a writer has a lot of upsides: you're relatively anonymous, unless you've written at least a _few_ bestsellers they are not a whole lot of people who are going to recognize you, and you can work on your next book in all peace and quiet. Nobody is really going to pay attention to you until your next book is published. I love it.

Soraya is the complete opposite of me like that. She craves the attention her engagement with Nate has given her. Can't say that I blame her. She's a pretty girl, and if she's happy with her life right now, I'm the last one to complain. Just as long as I don't have to live it. The cab pulls up in front of Paula's apartment, and I get out, pay the driver and smile at George who opens up the door for me. "Evening, Ms. Rabb."

I smile. "Evening, George."

"She's waiting for you," George smiles.

I smirk in return. "She always is, George."

The elevator takes an hour to get up to Paula's apartment and before I can even knock, the door already opened up. "Hi," I cheerfully greet my editor.

Paula glares at me. "You're late." Steps aside to let me in.

"Sorry about that. Soraya finally has her show-off party tonight, and my trip to the book store took me a little longer than expected." Bookworm, here. Read pretty much everything I can get my hands on.

Paula hands me my manuscript. The first thing that grabs my attention is that it's red all around. I sigh. "Paul, is there something about this that you didn't want to change?"

"There's a lot about it that I don't want to change," Paula says. "But there's also a lot about it that I do want to change."

Tell me something new. Seriously, is there a page that doesn't have a red mark on it?

"It's not that I don't like the concept, Nairi, but your first book was a whole lot better than this."

I roll my eyes at her. "This book is as much me as 'A Love Story' was, Paul."

Paula nods. "Might be, but something in your writing changed. Your readers want what they got in 'A Love Story'…"

"And that's exactly what they're getting."

"Is it?" See, this is why don't exactly love my editor. The girl is critical. Heaving a sigh, I open up my bag and put my manuscript in. "It is. I'll look at it, and let you know what I think."

This is war. It was the first time, and it will be now. Paula is trying to shape my story in the way she wants it, and since she's not writing it, she doesn't really get a say. Now, if there are any improvements I really have to make, I'll make them, but I'm not changing my plot just because she says so.

An hour and a half later, I'm standing in front of my apartment building, waiting for a cab. Wearing my new LBD. Nothing to posh, or to showy, but a simple, lovely, little black dress. It was a present from my Mom, who thought that I could use a new one.

High heeled black pumps, hair pulled up, simple diamonds earrings… I'm good to go. If it just would stop snowing, and that cab is supposed to get here… Soraya is going to kill me when I don't show up at all. By the time I got home, I already had four missed calls.

On the other hand, she's probably too busy with showing off Nate at this point. Finally, my cab pulls up, and I step up to open it. Almost get shoved aside by some guy in a designer suit, who is trying to get into the cab as well. I arch an eyebrow and clear my throat. What does he think that he's doing? "Excuse me? This is my cab."

The guy turns around to look at me. "Does it have your name on it?"

"It should." Stepping pas him, I get into the car. He follows and slides into the seat next to me. Gives the driver directions. Funny, he needs to go to the same street as me. The cab pulls up and we start our drive. Within five minutes, we're stuck in traffic. The guy is still looking at me. I turn my head from the window to where he's sitting. "Something you'd like to share?"

"Don't I know you?"

That's the worst pick-up line that there is on the planet. "Not that I know of, no." I shake my head and ignore my cell. Soraya. It's just her thirteenth call by now. She'll have to stick it out.

"Oh, but I do." This guy is pretty sure of himself.

"Really?" I smooth my skirt down and meet his eyes.

"You're Nairi Rabb, right? You wrote 'A Love Story'?"

Okay… That was not what I expected. So maybe being a writer isn't really as anonymous as I thought it would be. "Yes…"

"Right, that's you. Saw you at TV last year or something." As did half America. "Loved the book." He read the book? My eyes must've grown wide because he starts to laugh. "Surprised?"

"I believe the correct term is blown-away." I brush a strand of hair of my face.

"Why?" he asks.

"Well," I start, "you don't really seem the type of guy that would read a love story:"

He shrugs. "That's the first impression everybody gets of me. The outside doesn't tell you a whole lot about who I am."

Obviously not, no. "I'm impressed." I really am. I meet people who have read my book everyday, but somehow this feels different. I just can't put my finger on it.

He offers me his hand. "Eljin Carr."

Right, so now everything about this guy is exotic. Even his name. No, I'm not blind. He's filling that designer suit, probably a Hugo Boss, out perfectly. Dark hair, dark eyes, strong jaw line… He could probably be a model. "Nice to meet you." I smile.

Eljin smiles back. "I'm honored to meet you, Ms. Rabb. The way you wrote that love story was downright brilliant."

Keep up those compliments and I'll start to blush. It's no big deal. Just did something that I love to do. "Not brilliant. Good, maybe, but not brilliant."

"Of course it was. The way you let Jessica and Lawrence meet and build something together was perfect. I envy you, Ms. Rabb."

He _envy's_ me? "Why would you do that?"

"Because you seriously nailed it. From their first meeting to their wedding, to Lawrence finally going back to his old home with his family… The way you described it… Like you had been there. Just as if you'd seen it happen."

Not all of it, but most of what you read; yeah, I was there. I saw my Dad go back to his old house back in California, trying to figure out what had really happened. Trying to see if he could somehow fix what had happened between him and his parents. I can still remember the smell of the old mansion. I remember Mom standing close to him, and the three of us back against the car.

Eljin must've seen the far away look in my eyes, because he calls my name. "Ms. Rabb? Are you all right?"

"Nairi, please. Nobody I know uses Ms. Rabb." I take a deep breath. "So you really thought that I'd seen all of that happen?"

Eljin nods. "It takes a lot of reading between the lines, but, yeah, I really think that you've been there." He studies me for a moment. "You really have seen it happen, haven't you?"

"Not all of it," I softly admit. "But I've watched my Dad try to make up with my grandparents, standing in front of that damned house, being completely torn. I'll never forget the look of complete defeat on his face, when Mrs. Rabb just turned a cold shoulder on him." Why am I telling this to a complete stranger? I started to write that book because I wanted some kind of closure, because I somehow wanted to honor them with it. Not to open up old wounds.

Eljin frowns. "It's your parents' love story?"

I swallow hard and nod. "Yeah, it's my parents' story. There are only a handful of people on this planet who know that, and that is how I want to keep it. You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone."

Solemnly, Eljin nods. "Of course not." He leans back in his seat. "Your parents' story. Wow."

When Mom first finished it, she called me, crying. "Iri," she said, "thank you. Thank you for writing that. Thank you, for making sure that it won't be forgotten."

I cried so much when I wrote 'A Love Story'… After a while, my tears were up. Not that it's a completely sad and depressing story, because it's not, but there were so many emotions involved that I let the book be for a few months, to visit home and get back to myself. To get more information, too. Because I knew a lot, but I didn't know everything. Not that I really wrote everything; I wouldn't do that to Mom and Dad.

They've been together for like forever, and I hadn't really talked to them about this, so there was no way that I could let them go through all that again. It was hard, writing 'A Love Story'. I had to change a whole lot of things in the time table, in my parents' professions, my siblings' names, where we lived… I worked with spare basics. And yet, at the same time, I was writing a story that I wanted to tell. A story now told.

Eljin softly touches my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I look up and see that we've arrived. Soraya's party is in there. "You're also going to Soraya and Nate's engagement party?"

"I was," Eljin says. "Now I'm not so sure I want to go." He offers me a small smile.

I sniff. "I wasn't really looking forward to it, either," I confess.

Nodding, Eljin leans over to the driver and gives him new directions. "Do you mind if we go for a cup of coffee somewhere else instead?"

Do I mind? Can't say that I do. Usually, I can talk about the story as if it's just a story. As if I don't know the people I wrote about, as if I made everything that I wrote, up. Then why can't I do that, now? Because Eljin (that's still Mr. Carr to you, Iri) seems really interested? Because he somehow seems genuine? Or because he is just a complete stranger and he doesn't really know me? Don't they say that it's easier to talk to strangers? Maybe that's it. He's just an ordinary stranger who's willing to listen.

Just a few minutes later, we're sitting behind a cup of coffee in some diner, where we're totally out of place in, dressed up and all, and I don't know where to begin. Eljin (we're officially on first-name basis, now) doesn't say anything. Gives me all the time to think. To get my act together.

Right now, it's time to tell the _real_ love story.

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**TBC**


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews you guys! As said in the summary, this is a complete AU story. I took some major liberties. You'll see. Let me know what you think. **

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**May, 1980**

"Harm, get your butt over here!" Jack Keeter called over to his best friend. "The limo is here!"

American football quarterback Harmon 'Harm' Rabb looked back over his shoulder. "Just a second, Jack! That limo will be here in five more minutes." He turned his attention back to Kimberly. "So, where were we?"

The girl giggled and played with a lock of her blond hair. Harm shook his head. It was going to be _so_ easy to impress her. He already was halfway. All he had to do now was to talk Kimberly into going out with him. Which couldn't be that hard.

"Oh, right, I remember. I was going to ask you out." He flashed her his famous grin and knew right then that this was going exactly as planned. "I'll come pick you up Saturday night? Say seven?"

Kimberly just nodded. "Sure."

"Great." Harm winked and looked back at Jack, who was already waiting by the car. "I gotta run. See you tomorrow, right?"

One last smile and he was gone. Jack rolled his eyes at him. "Trying to impress the second most important girl in our cheerleading team?"

Harm got into the limo. "Not trying, Jack. Succeeding."

"Whatever, Harm."

Being Harmon Rabb Sr.'s son, one of Hollywood's most influent directors, Harm had everything he could ever ask for. All the girls drooled over him, the guys wanted to be him, and he could get away with everything. On the outside, Harm was the all-American guy: tall, athletic, tanned, handsome… Looking every bit like his father. On the inside, though, it didn't mean a thing to him. It wasn't who he was, at all. He was into literature, photography, poetry, wanted to discuss the meaning of life with some of his closest friends, and dream about what life would have in store for him. And that could still be anything, at age sixteen. As long as he didn't have to do what his father did, or end up being a famous quarterback. He'd settle for being an English lit professor, teach at some college in the middle of nowhere or so.

Harm hated the prestige that came with his parents' lifestyle. Next week, he and Jack would be able to take their own car, and then they would be able to ditch the limo. It would be about time. Jack looked at his friend. "Rough day?"

Jack was the one of the rare people who really knew how Harm Rabb was. Harm shrugged. "Not that bad. Just want to get Vince off my back."

"Don't we all?"

Harm leaned back in his seat and grinned. "I guess so, yeah."

Vince was also a player, and couldn't stop talking. Period. No matter what you asked or did to him, the guy could not shut up. Looking out the limo's window, Harm couldn't think anything other than that it was a beautiful day in southern California. He loved it here, as long as he could do what he wanted. Something that didn't happen very often. Moments where he could just relax and sit back, were rare. Usually, he had to sit up and give hands, meet people he didn't want to meet…

"Hey, you want to head out to the mall?" Jack asked.

Harm shook his head. "I think I'll head to the beach, later. Thanks for the offer, though."

Jack nodded. If Harm headed out to the beach, he didn't have to ask questions. Not anymore. Donald pulled the limo up to the mansion a little later. There was one thing that Harm's parents had done well. After Jack's parents had died in a car accident when the boys were only six, they had taken Jack in. Had officially adopted him. The boys looked at each other as brothers, and technically that was what they were.

They headed in, each going their separate ways. Jack was heading to the mall, just like he'd said. Harm was going over to the beach, taking some of his books with him. Maybe he could get some reading down while he was up there.

It wasn't all that busy at the beach. Summer started early this year, but at this point everybody was busy with parties and proms. It wasn't something Harm was looking forward to, but it was something he was obliged to do. Attend prom. Preferably with the captain of the cheerleading team: Allison Grey. A pretty, dumb, selfish, blond girl, who was only interested in herself.

Walking up to his favorite place on the beach, Harm frowned for a little while. This was not what he was used to. In the four years that he'd been coming here, he hadn't seen another living soul out here. Now there was a girl sitting there. Flipping through the notebook in her lap, biting on the end of her pen, she looked as relaxed as Harm always tried to feel.

Her hair up in an easy ponytail, dressed in jeans and a sweater. It wasn't a girl from school. Had she been, Harm would've known. Suddenly, she looked up. Sent him a small smile. "Hi."

"Hey." Hesitatingly, Harm set a few steps in her direction. "Mind if I join you?"

The girl shook her head. "No, course not. Make yourself comfy." She bent over her notebook again, scribbling something down.

Harm sat down next to her. Alone, he had all the room in the world. Two people on this particular spot felt like a crowd. A few moments passed in silence, before the girl closed her notebook and leaned back on her arms, looking out over the ocean.

Harm looked over at her book. "Romeo and Juliet, huh?"

"Yeah. My English teacher made me."

"I'm more a Marc Anthony and Cleopatra kinda guy."

That caused her to laugh. "I bet you are." She offered him her hand. "Sarah Mackenzie. Call me Mac."

"Harm Rabb."

Mac whistled. "Harmon Rabb's son? I'm impressed."

Harm snorted. "No need to be. It's not as glamorous as it sounds." He looked over at her book again. "Found anything interesting in there?"

Mac shook her head. "I wish. It's not as interesting as it sounds at first. Although I do love the original movie."

Harm laughed. "Which is not the same as the book, I'm afraid."

"It comes pretty close." Mac smiled at him. "No offense, but you don't strike me as the guy who is into quiet moments on the beach, let alone into Shakespeare."

"Why is that?"

She shrugged. "Because you look like the guy who is the star of the American football team, the quarterback who is dating the captain of the cheerleading team. You've got cliché written all over you."

It made him laugh. "I've got cliché written all over me? You make is sound as such a bad thing."

"It is. I hate people who follow the crowd, who don't have an own opinion." She looked up. "Thankfully for me, looks can be deceiving." She rolled over on her stomach. "So, if you want to convince me of the opposite, what's your story?"

"My story?" Harm shook his head. "There's not so much to tell. I'm just like everybody else. Grew up with my parents, who adopted my best friend when we were six, I'm into literature and poetry, want to be an English lit teacher when I grow up… Like I said, not much to tell."

"You don't want to follow in your dad's footsteps?" Mac wanted to know. "You don't have a gift for creating images like he does?"

"Not really. I mean, I'm totally into photographing and stuff, I carry my camera practically everywhere I go, but it's not that I want to tell a story by filming it or something. I'm not going to be a director or a quarterback for the rest of my life."

"Take a breath, Harm, I wasn't trying to talk you into anything. It was just a question." Mac fidgeted with her fingers. "You have the strong need to justify yourself, don't you? Really feel that you have to explain your actions to everyone else?"

"And why wouldn't I? It's all that they've asked of me. Why don't you do this, why don't you that? Shouldn't you go and do… something?" It still made him angry when people just looked at him as a follow up for his father. He'd met enough famous people, and he'd seen enough around him, to decide that that was _not_ what he wanted. The need to justify came with that. People always demanded a reason from him for what he was or wasn't doing. So he got defensive. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so defensive. You haven't done anything wrong."

Mac arched an eyebrow. "Do I look worried? I'm sorry that you feel the need to explain your actions to everyone who asks you things about your plans for the future, or what you want to do thirty seconds from now. I'm more worried about you."

"Sure." Harm rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

She sat up. "I seriously mean that, Harm. I think it's not right when people feel that they have to justify every next step they're going to take. It's not the way things should work."

Having heard enough about himself, Harm turned to her. "What about you? What's your story?"

"Same as you, not so much to tell. Been living with my parents, until they got divorced last year. Mom and I moved down here just a few weeks ago. Want to be a paleontologist or do something with art. Two very different things, I know, but I can't decide which one I like more."

"You and your Mom close?"

"Not all that close. We get along okay, she lets me be who I want to be, and as long as I do the same for her, we're great." Mac bit her lip. "It's strange that Dad isn't around anymore, though. I'm still used to him walking through the door at night."

"Where does he live now?"

"He stayed in Pennsylvania. Mom decided that she wanted to go back to her roots. She grew up here." Sarah stared of into the ocean again. "Your parents are still together, aren't they?"

"They are supposed to be, yeah." Harm shrugged. "Not that Jack and I notice. Dad is off shooting, fifty out of fifty-two weeks of the year, and Mom is doing her own thing, which is basically spending money, having drinks with her friends from the country club… You know how it goes."

"I don't," Mac answered. "But I have a pretty good idea." Of course she did.

It occurred to Harm that Mac probably had a good idea about anything. "So, what are you doing out here on the beach?"

"Same as you. Studying."

Harm nodded. "I'm not really studying, but all right. How did you find this place?"

She smiled. "How I found this place? Walked over the beach one day, got a little further down the shore than intended and ended up here. How did _you_ find it?"

"It's pretty much part of our property," he answered. "Not that a lot of people know that, but this is part of our private beach."

At that, Mac made an attempt to rise, but Harm stopped her. "Sit down, Mac. Please. I didn't mean that you had to move. I could've thrown you off when I arrived if I'd really wanted to."

Slightly surprised, Mac sat back down. "Seriously? You guys own this part of the beach? Why doesn't it say so?"

Harm shrugged. "Never got to it, I guess. It's not important. Most of the people around here know that, but we don't make a problem out of it."

Not completely put at ease, Mac eyed him. "_They_ don't, or _you_ don't?"

"I don't. And since I'm pretty much the only one of the family that comes down here, you've got nothing to worry about."

She offered him a little smile and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Then started to gather her things. "I should get going. I've been out here for a while, and it's my turn to do the grocery shopping and cook tonight."

Harm just nodded. "Sure." He'd hoped that she would stay longer. But of course she had more things to do than to hang around on the beach.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Mac looked at him. "So, do I need to ask permission to visit this part of the beach? If I want to return to it?"

Harm rose himself. "I'll walk you home. And no, you don't need to ask permission to sit here. Consider it your own."

She arched an eyebrow. "I might do that, Harm." Was she talking about the beach or could she possibly mean anything else with that? "Anyway, you don't have to walk me home. It's not that far, and it won't be dark for a while."

"Humor me, okay? I don't mind."

Narrowing her eyes at him, Mac shrugged. "If you insist…"

They started to walk down the beach, back in the direction where Harm had first come from. "So, where do you go to school? I haven't seen you around."

"Just enrolled in Jordan High. You?"

"Lakewood."

"Ah, so you really are the famous quarterback."

Harm rolled his eyes. "Could we _not_ talk about that? I hate people who look at me and think: 'Hey, you're the quarterback of Lakewood!' I'm a little more than _just_ the quarterback of Lakewood."

"There you go again." Mac shook her head and Harm frowned at her.

"What?"

"There you go defending yourself, again. I never said you were _just_ the quarterback of Lakewood. And don't worry, I won't talk about it, if you don't want to." Mac shook her head. "You'd almost think that you've got a complex."

"Maybe I do," Harm answered. "Would that be such a problem?"

Mac frowned at him and stood still. "You seriously are defensive, aren't you? Look, if you're going to be like this every time I'm going to ask you a question, maybe you should just stay here and go back home."

Harm took a deep breath. "Right. I'm sorry, Mac, I just…" He let his breath escape through his lips. "I don't know what's wrong with me, anyway."

Mac didn't respond to that and they continued to talk about nothing in particular until she stopped in front of a small house. She turned to Harm. "Thanks for walking me home, Harm."

"No problem," Harm shrugged. "It was nice to meet you." For a second he thought he saw Mac blush, but she nodded and smiled. "Same here. Maybe I'll see you around?"

"Maybe."

"Okay. Well, bye." With that, she walked up the path to the house, and didn't look back. Harm turned around and started to walk back home. Seriously, how was it possible that he actually screwed that up? She was a girl for heaven's sake! He never screwed that up! Shaking his head again, Harm made his way back home, wondering if he would ever see Sarah Mackenzie again.

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**TBC**


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: **Hey guys! Thanks for the wonderful reviews. Keep them coming!

Here's the next chap. Enjoy!

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"Hey Harm!"

Harm looked up from his books in the library and rolled his eyes at an approaching Vince. "What is it, Vince?"

"You seen Allie's new best friend? She's nice!" Vince gave him a broad grin.

Sighing, Harm turned back to his books. "I bet she is, Vince."

"No, seriously, this one is really amazing…" Vince took the seat next to Harm. "She would be great to take to senior prom this year." Vince continued to talk about this girl he'd seen with Allie.

It didn't interest Harm at all. After listening to Vince for more than six minutes, he started to gather his books and decided that he wasn't going to listen anymore. "Vince… could you stop talking for more then three seconds? If she's so great, why haven't you introduced me yet?"

For a little while, Vince looked flabbergasted. "Right. Of course." Rising, he signaled for Harm to follow him. "Come on."

Clenching his teeth, Harm followed Vince down the halls and corridors to the outside of the school. When he walked out, he squeezed his eyes against the sudden sunlight. The first person he actually saw, was Allie. Who was talking to some friends, Kimberly included, just down the steps.

Vince nudged Harm in his ribs. "Over there." Harm followed the direction of Vince's gaze. Then he frown and looked again. Shaking his head, Harm really had to look again.

Next to Allie stood a girl that Harm hadn't been able to get out of his head for over three weeks now. After that one chance meeting at the beach, he hadn't seen Mac again. Although he didn't believe that she hadn't come to the beach again, he hadn't seen her. Eventually, Harm had figured that it was probably for the best anyway. He had to focus at his education, at going to college, instead of a girl. But now the object of his thoughts was standing just a few yards away from him.

Suddenly, Mac looked up, and their eyes met and locked instantly. She smiled a careful smile at him, at the same time pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Didn't I tell you she's nice?" Vince said, oblivious to Harm's stunned state.

Breaking away from Vince, Harm rushed down the steps and stopped abruptly in front of Mac. "Hi," he breathed.

Mac smiled. "Hey."

Trying to regain his composure, Harm ran a hand through his hair. "I thought you were going to Jordan?" Okay, so that was _not_ the first question he thought he was going to ask her. "Rephrase: Hi Mac, how have you been?"

"Tongue-tied once again, Mr. Rabb?" she grinned.

"I'm afraid so, Miss Mackenzie."

"That's what I thought." She gave him another brilliant smile. "Actually, Mom decided that she wanted to move, and the Lakewood is closer to our new home than Jordan is. So... I'm fine, by the way. You?"

"Can't complain." So that was why he hadn't seen her around. She had moved. "So now you're joining us geeks here, huh?"

Mac shrugged. "A geek among the geeks, what can I say?" Her tone of voice may have been serious, the glister in her eyes betrayed her.

"I thought your English teacher _made_ you read Romeo and Juliet?" Harm teased. "You would've been a geek if you'd known several of the scenes by heart."

"Who says I don't?" Mac challenged.

"You got a point there." Harm had to admit, he got lost in the conversation. Got tongue-tied, as she so elegantly put it, around her. It had happened the first time, and this time was no different. "So, now what? What exactly is it that you're gonna do here?"

Mac looked at him as if he had just asked her if she was an alien. "I'm going to graduate here, Harm."

"I get that," Harm said. "So am I. But what I wanted to say, was, are you going to join some after school program?"

Putting a hand above her eyes to protect them from the sun, Mac nodded. "I was thinking about joining the drama class, or the poetry class or something, but I haven't made my mind up yet. Can you recommend anything?"

Harm shook his head. "Can't say that I can, I'm afraid. I haven't joined anything besides the football team."

Mac nodded. "Okay, so that's not any help. Do you even know what kind of after school programs the school offers?"

"Thank you so much for the confidence, Miss Mackenzie." Harm rolled his eyes. He grinned. "Honestly, I have no clue. There is supposed to be a person for that."

Mac arched one eyebrow and nodded. "Right. I'll find my way around. Don't think I can expect some help from you."

"Hey," Harm protested, "I can show you around. As opposed to what you might think, I

_do_ know my way around school."

By know, Allie, Kimberly and Vince were staring at them. Noticing that the others had fallen silent, they both turned around.

"What?" Harm said.

Vice pointed to him, then to Mac and then back to Harm. "You two know each other?"

Harm looked from Mac back to Vince. "Yeah, we've met."

"You've _met_?" Kimberly put her hands on her hips, looking every bit the cheerleader that she was. "That doesn't really tell us anything, Harm."

Harm sighed, thinking that it wasn't supposed to tell Kimberly anything. Luckily for him, Mac jumped in. "We've known each other for a little while, Kimmy. Nothing for you to worry about."

Mac too, had noticed, that Kimberly had gotten defensive. She put a hand on the girl's arm. "Harm and I just… know each other. We've met sometime." Both Kimberly and Allie backed off a little bit. She turned to Harm. "Anyway, if you got the time, anytime next week or so, to show me around, that would be great."

"Sure." Harm nodded. "So, uhm… I'll come find you?" He wanted to tell her that he could show her around right now, but judging by the look on everyone's face, now wasn't the time to show her around.

"Yeah," Mac responded. "Yeah, that would be great." She was blushing. She was actually blushing.

Harm grinned. "Yeah, I'll come find you." With that, he nodded at everyone and walked back to the library.

Mac swirled around to Kimberly and Allie. "So, where were we?"

* * *

"Sarah, it's time to go to school!" Deanna Mackenzie called upstairs.

"Yeah Mom, just a second!" Mac put her notepad down and smoothed her hair down. Going over her notes once again, she suddenly had to think about Harm. About how it had been a while since they had seen each other since they'd met that first time on the beach, and that they were now in the same school.

Grabbing her bag, Mac started to pack her things. School. Actually befriending Kimberly and Allie; the captain of the cheerleading team and her right hand. If there was one thing Mac never thought was going to happen, it was that. Racing downstairs, because she was actually a little late, she sprinted into the kitchen.

Deanna looked up. "I thought you were going to be on time, this year?"

"I am on time," Mac said. Buttering her slice of toast with one hand and pouring a glass of orange juice with the other, Mac grinned in the direction of her mother. "See, the bus just got here." She gulped down two-thirds of her glass, grabbed her bag and kissed her mother's cheek. "See you, Mom."

"Bye, sweetie."

Mac hurried out the door, over to the bus. She was ought to get up earlier in the day. She didn't have the time to hang around, day dream about Harm… Hold on; did she just admit to herself that she was actually daydreaming about Harm Rabb? Mac shook her head.

"Ought to get your head out of the clouds, girl," she reminded herself. Not that that was going to be easy. Mac had always considered herself to be a down-to-earth girl, but ever since she'd laid eyes on that guy, she wasn't so down-to-earth as she wanted to be. It felt like she and Harm had a connection with each other that was beyond anything Mac had even experienced with any friend she'd ever had. As if she had found the last part of a puzzle. And it had only been three weeks since she came to Lakewood. Three dumb weeks.

It had always been her mother who believed in love at first sight, not her. Even the concept of unconditional love had sounded strange to her; it had been a bit spacey. Those old couples, who'd lived their lives together, and were still so happy with each other, who'd been through so much together, and still supported each other no matter what. Mac had seen something like that before, but she always thought that they were naïve. She never actually believed that it was possible to love somebody your whole life. Not so complete.

But the thing was, that with every single moment that she spent with Harm, every spare second that they were together, they were together. They had this connection that made their friendship deeper, more meaningful than Mac could have ever imagined. That was the strange thing. It made her doubt her other friendships, the other relationships in her life. Because what she had with Harm, was so… She honestly didn't have the word to describe it. It was safe. And nice. Peaceful and stormy at the same time. Her emotions were working overtime. And it seemed that she wouldn't be able to turn any of it back.

"Hey, Mac." Leona fell into the chair next to her. "What's with that far away look?"

Mac arched an eyebrow; then sighed. "Seriously? You can read it of my face?"

"In love, huh? Harm?"

"That's obvious, too?"

Leona softly laughed. "Given the amount of time you guys spent together… I'd say so."

Mac rolled her eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course."

"It's probably a stupid question, but…. Do you believe in love at first sight? In the concept of a soul mate?"

Leona pursed her lips. "Do you?"

"Could you like, answer the question?" Mac asked.

Leona thought for a while. "Yes, I do believe in a soul mate. And I do believe in love at first sight. Do you think that that happened to you and Harm?"

Mac shrugged. "I'm not sure. I never believed in anything like that. And now I've met Harm… It's giving me goose bumps all over. It's _so_ strange…"

Leona nodded. "It's not really strange, Mac. Everybody who looks at the two of you while you think that nobody is watching you, can tell that you're a perfect match."

"It's so early…"

"A lot of high school sweethearts end up married. It's never too early if it feels right. Do

you want to give it up?"

Mac shook her head. "I didn't say that…" She shook her head again, biting her lip. "No, I would never want to give that up."

"Then why worry?" Leona looked at her. "Do you think that it's too early?"

"Maybe…" Mac admitted. "I mean, we're graduating next year, Leona. Who knows that will happen once we get to college."

Leona started to grin. "Worry about that once you get there. Why don't you just enjoy the time you have in between?"

Thinking, Mac ran a hand through her hair. "I should, shouldn't I?"

"I think so," Leona nodded.

Mac rested her head against the window and stared at the street. Maybe Leona was right. Maybe she just needed to enjoy whatever it was that she and Harm shared right now, and not worry about what was going to happen in the future. Maybe she just had to let their friendship run its course and not worry about it. She didn't know what tomorrow would bring. Why worry about it?

* * *

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: **Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, everyone! Loved it! Here's the next part!

**

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Present

"Sounds like your parents had the real deal pretty quickly." Eljin finishes his drink. "And it sounds as if your mother had her reasons for doubting things the way she did."

I nod. "Especially since she didn't know what hit her. I mean, the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing is overrated, if you ask me, especially in high school."

"But they made it. So there had to be something there," he observes.

If Eljin only knew what they had to go through before getting there… I shrug. "Well, yeah, otherwise they wouldn't still be together. At this point of the story is still strikes me how they could be so sure of each other. Of what they had together. Despite the obvious doubt, of course."

Eljin nods. "What did your grandparents say? Weren't they concerned?"

"Oh, Grandma Mackenzie had a fit, and so did Mr. and Mrs. Rabb because they saw my dad's future in the film industry disappear over a girl… But Grams eventually saw that what they had, and still have, would be okay. Grandpa Mackenzie found out about them by the time they were engaged, I believe. But he seriously believed that Mom was totally entitled to her own choices and opinions, so he didn't say anything to discourage her. Which is, in my opinion, still the most memorable reaction." I trail the rim of my cup with my finger and smile. "My parents are the sticky kind and sometimes I've really had it with them, but eventually I decided that it was better that than that they were fighting."

Eljin's eyes turn a shade darker. "Oh, trust me. I'd settle for sticky if that meant that my parents stopped fighting."

"Divorced parents?" I ask.

"No. They're still together. Probably for the money or something. My dad's loaded and I think that my mother realizes that if she leaves him, she'll lose all her friends as well as her money. They signed a pre-nub," he explains to me. "They sent me off to boarding school by the time I was five, and I remember that every time I came home for the summer or the holidays, I'd get this cold shower. They just wouldn't stop fighting."

I swallow. "That must've been hard."

He shrugs. "I got over it. Figured that I could make my own choice on whom to marry when the time came. Decided that money wasn't worth the fight." Looking up, he signals for the waitress. "I'm in the mood for a triple brownie and cappuccino. You?"

I always thought that women turned to chocolate when their emotions were hard on them. Apparently not. "Warm apple pie with custard pudding. And a caramel macchiato."

The waitress smiles. "Coming right up."

Suddenly, I realize that we've been sitting here for two hours already, and that the caramel macchiato I've ordered is going to be the second tonight. Oh, well, whatever. I'll go running tomorrow. Tonight I can indulge.

Eljin leans back in his chair. "So, do you have any siblings?"

I nod. "Oh, yeah. Two. Brother and sister."

"That must've been nice to have siblings."

"Right. We fought so much when we were younger." I shake my head. "We're doing better now, though. My sister is a dance instructor in California, and my little brother is a pilot. Things change when you grow up."

Eljin nods. "Yeah, they do. Not always for the better, though."

"True," I admit. "But you have to have faith that things will be okay eventually. You have to have something that's going to get you through the day, right?"

He looks at me, pondering. "I guess so. Sometimes things just don't go the way you want them to."

I'm interested. "What happened?" I ask. "Unless you don't want me to know…"

"No, it's fine." He leans his elbows on the table and looks me in the eye. "I fell in love once. Went through the whole dating thing, got engaged eventually, because it felt like it was the right thing to do." He sighs. "Do you believe that love can make you blind for your partners' mistakes?"

I nod. "When you start out, of course. Everybody sees things through pink glasses at the beginning. That's no more than normal."

Eljin snorts. "Paige was everything I ever dreamed of, or so I thought. Same background as I had, with the difference that her parents seemed to have a happy marriage, she was smart, witty… The whole package. Until she decided that her career was always going to be more important than our marriage ever would be. And when I realized that, I suddenly saw all the other signs I'd missed, too."

I reach over and put my hand on his arm. "That must've been hard."

"It was for the better, right?"

I shrug. "Knowing things are for the better doesn't mean that it's any easier. It doesn't mean that at all. I wish it did."

The waitress puts our orders on the table and disappears again. Eljin and I don't say anything for a little while. "But, on the other hand, and that's probably what everybody said to you after it happened, better find out while you're engaged than when you're married."

Eljin laughs and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I figured, too. Still didn't make it any easier."

"No, I bet." I have to laugh, too. "When was it?"

He takes a sip of his cappuccino and puts his cup back down. "Three years ago. I got over her." He winks at me. "It's just, when I hear a story of two people who are so completely sure of themselves, and of each other as a couple, I wonder if it will ever happen to me. If you really love someone, and something like that happens, you get cautious letting someone getting close to you."

I thoughtfully chew on a bite. "I think it all depends on the risk you're willing to take. Do you want to let someone into your heart again, or are you still afraid of getting hurt? My mother always taught me that love is all about the risks. She always said that when you fall in love, there's always the risk of the other person not returning your feelings, or the risk of getting hurt, or something, but when it's right, you're the happiest you'll ever be."

"Your mother is a wise woman," Eljin says.

"I like to think so."

"So, tell me," Eljin continues, "what happened with your parents?"

* * *

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: Okay guys, I know it's been forever since I last updated this story. What can I say? RL sucks? Well, it does, but to make it up to you, I'll be posting two chaps. How's that? Hope you'll enjoy this...

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**

**June 1981**

Mac blew the candle on the tiny cake out and grinned at Harm. "Happy anniversary," she whispered and leaned in to kiss him.

"Happy anniversary." Harm grinned back. "We've survived it all. Thanksgiving, Christmas, our first fight…"

"Your parents' fit, _my_ mother's fit, and everything else we had to go through. But we got here anyway." Mac leaned back in his embrace. "I can't believe it's been a year already."

"Neither can I," Harm said. "It feels like it's only been yesterday that we met."

Mac grinned. "It's been a little longer than just yesterday, handsome."

"So I gather." He nuzzled her neck and looked up at the sky. "Is your mom okay with us sitting out here?"

She frowned. "Is there any reason why she wouldn't be?" Mac asked.

Harm shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I know that she trusts us, I just meant that we always take up the front porch when I'm here."

Taking his hand in hers, Mac shook her head. "Don't worry about that. She's more than happy to have you here. Especially after that tantrum your mother threw when you wanted to spent Thanksgiving here." She looked up to him again. "She knows how your mother can be; what life is like for you and Jack out there. Think of this as your safe haven."

Harm kissed her cheek. "I can't think of a better place."

They had met in May last year, fell in love almost immediately and started dating the following June. Mac had eventually decided that Leona was right; she better enjoy the time was going to have with Harm than to break her head over everything that _might _happen and maybe never even would.

When Harm has admitted that he was in love with her, too, they had really spent every spare second they had together. And that was when the trouble had really started. Harm was still focused on his study, as was Mac, and he was still a member of the football team, but things slowly started to shift. His coach had started to notice that his head wasn't really in the game anymore. His thoughts were with other things. His results were still good, because he knew that when Mac was sitting on the bleachers during a game, he would be able to focus, but football wasn't his life. And Harm started to realize more and more that it never really had been. Football was a great way to stay in shape, but he had never committed himself to the sport the way an athlete really was supposed to.

His mother hadn't noticed the change in the beginning. She was still busy with her friends, spending the money his father earned. But when he and Jack had started to spent more and more time away from her home, from her dinner table, she had started to understand that something was changing. Especially when both the boys came to her with the announcement that they weren't going to spent Thanksgiving at home, but with the families of their respective girlfriends. Since it was one of the few times that their father was home, and they had friends over, she had thrown a tantrum like a three-year-old that didn't get her way. It was her time to show of her sons and now they wanted to spent that time out of their home! It was as if they wanted the unthinkable.

And to Mrs. Rabb, it really was the unthinkable. They had to obey; if she wanted them home with her, that was the only way things were going to happen and not otherwise. Harm and Jack had talked, with each other, with Mac and Britney, and decided that this was really the first time that they would disobey their mother. The frictions had started months earlier, even before the boys were dating. This time, they had had enough.

Thanksgiving was spent with Mac and Britney's family, and Christmas, later on, too.

"Is she still mad at you?" Mac asked.

Harm shrugged. "She will be mad at me and Jack for a little while longer. She's starting to understand that we're slowly disengaging ourselves from her and she doesn't want that. It's her life, if she wants to live it this way, she needs to get that Jack and I have different ideas about the way we want to live ours."

She studied him for a moment. "You're saying that all brave, but it's hurting you to actually say it out loud."

"It is, isn't it?" Harm sighed. "You know, despite everything, I still love my mom. I mean, she's my mom. I only want her to be happy. It's only normal for me to want that, right?"

"I never said it wasn't," Mac defended herself.

"Now who is being defensive, huh?" Harm grinned. "I don't like doing things that go against her, or her ideas, but when they get in the way of how I want things, I'm gonna hold my ground. I just don't like the fact that I'm hurting her in the process."

Mac shifted in his arms and looked up to him. "You can't do things perfect, Harm. Your mom is who she is, and you are who you are. You're not the same. You want different things out of life. So do my mom and I. And sure, you'll sometimes hurt her with the way you're doing things, but if you don't, you're going to regret not doing things the way you want them, later."

Looking out over the street, Harm was quiet for a while. He nodded. "You're right. I just wish that things were different. I wish that my dad was around to make her happy."

"I know." She squeezed his hand. "But you've got to do it with the things you have, not the things you don't have."

"See, that's why I love you. You're always the sensible one."

For a slight second they stared at each other, unsure what to say. After dating for a year and given the amount of time they spent together and how well they knew each other, they both knew that what they had was right. Both knew that they loved each other. But neither of the two had said it out loud before. Harm cleared his throat. "Uhm…"

"I love you, too," Mac said. Smiling, she nudged him in his ribs. "Don't worry. I knew that. Just wanted you to know that I do, too."

* * *

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: And here's chap 2... And guys, everything I know about Chicago is from Google, so cut me some slack please... ;-) **

* * *

**Present**

I pull my coat tighter around me and hold on to my clutch. After we finished our second caramel macchiato and cappuccino, we decided to get back outside. So, now we're walking slowly in the snow, on our way to Millennium Park.

Eljin looks at me. "Are you cold?"

I smile. "A little. I'm dressed for an indoor party, not for a walk in the snow."

"We'll get you warmed up in a minute," Eljin promises. "I love your hat." He taps my soft yellow barrette.

"Hey, don't insult my hat. It was a present from my little sister. I like it." I stick my tongue out at him. "Where is your hat?"

"My hat?" He rubs over his head. "I don't own a hat."

"You should." I have a thing for hats. I wear them during spring, summer, autumn and winter. All year round, really. "I love hats. It makes me feel like my outfit is really complete."

Eljin rolls his eyes. "Are you one of _those_ girls?"

"What do you mean, 'one of _those_ girls'?" I protest.

"One of those girly girls. Who need to have a certain something to complete their outfit, otherwise they won't leave the house."

I sigh in mock expiration. "You, my friend, don't appreciate simple things."

"Why do you say that?" he asks. "What does that have to do with anything?" His confusion makes me laugh and I link my arm through his.

"Mr. Carr, let me tell you something about those girly girls. Those girls just want one simple thing to complete their entire day. Now, whether that's a bracelet, a clutch, a pair of earrings, or in my case, a hat, it makes our entire day. Would you rather have that we walk around all day being grumpy, or would you give us a simple accessory to make us feel happy?"

Eljin shakes his head at me and sighs. "When you put it that way…"

"Exactly my thought." I laugh.

When we're nearing Millennium Park, Eljin takes a turn to the left I did not expect.

"Where are we going? I thought you wanted to go to Millennium Park?"

"I do," he says. "But there is something else that I want you to see. It's close by, I promise."

For a while we just walk, chatting about everything and nothing, until he stops in front of an ice-rink . Kids are skating, parents are chatting and a lot of the pedestrians have stopped to look.

Eljin grins at me. "I used to come to a place like this when I was a kid. We'd go every year, me, my best friend and his parents, and ice-skate for an entire afternoon. It was brilliant."

"I've never done this," I confess.

Eljin stares at me. "What do you mean, you've never done this?"

"Well, as I'm saying it. I've never ice-skated before." I feel a little embarrassed. I've been living in Chicago for almost four years now and I've never been ice-skating.

His eyes are so surprised, I start to laugh again. "I'm sorry, Eljin. It's just… I grew up in California, okay? There's not much of a winter there. And I've only been living in Chicago for four years, and I just never got around to do it." Why am I explaining why I haven't gone ice-skating before? I've never done this. Done. No need for an explanation.

Eljin pulls on my hand. "In that case…"

My eyes grow wide, confused as I am. "What are you doing?"

"If you've never ice-skated before, today is a brilliant day to start."

No it's not. I can't go ice-skating. "Eljin!" I protest as he drags me along. "I can't!"

He shoots a grin in my direction. "What do you mean, you can't? Afraid that you'll fall, Nairi?"

Yes, that too. Not that I want him to know that. "I'm wearing a dress, Eljin. And a tight one at that." Okay, so there was no need to add that last comment. It's not like he hadn't seen that. He stops so suddenly that I bump into him.

"First,' he starts, "it's not that I hadn't noticed that you're wearing a dress. And second, the fact that you are isn't an excuse to pass."

Apparently not, no. I sigh and follow him. He rents two pairs of skates, helps me put them on and ten minutes later we're standing on the ice. I'm holding myself up as Eljin makes an impressive round on the rink. When he comes back to me, he takes my hand, tosses my clutch to one of the bystanders and takes me on the ice. Carefully, as not to hurt me during my first adventure on ice, he holds me up. Forty-five minutes, and almost as many falls later, I'm finally standing all by myself. And I can't stop laughing. My stomach is hurting, I'm completely out of breath, but I haven't had this much fun in ages.

Carefully, I take another couple of slides over to where Eljin is standing, grinning like an idiot. His eyes sparkle in the lights. "Well, Ms. Rabb, what do you think?" he asks.

I try to catch my breath. "I haven't had this much fun in ages."

"Of course not. You hadn't been ice-skating yet." The matter-of-fact tone of his voice makes me laugh even harder. Eljin joins in. "Well, I'm right, aren't I?"

"Sure you are." I can barely stand on my feet anymore and I'm in bad need of something warm to drink, because I haven't been this cold in years, so if he wants to be right, I'll give him that.

He smiles at me. "Come on, you've earned yourself a hot cocoa." Wrapping his arm around my waist, we make our way back off the rink. Someone hands me back my clutch and after Eljin got rid of his skates, he sinks on one knee to unlace mine. I hadn't even realized that my feet were hurting until he takes off my left skate. I wince in pain.

"Blisters?" I ask.

Eljin nods. "Yup. One. And a bad one at that." He looks at my foot. "I'm sorry. I should've been more careful, knowing that that was your first time on the ice."

"Don't worry. A band-aid and a hot cocoa and I won't even know it's there."

He frowns at me. "Right. You're wearing three-inch heels, remember?" Taking the other skate off, he inspects my other foot as well.

"You think that you walk in three-inch heels without ever having blisters?" I ask him.

"Okay," he gives in. "Probably not." Rising, he takes both pairs of skates. "Don't go anywhere, I'm going to take care of that blister first."

"I'm not going anywhere." Looking at the rink, which has been a little deserted now, I smile. I really haven't had this much fun in ages.

* * *

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 6

****

**AN: I know that it's been ages since I've update this story, guys. :-( Sorry, sorry, sorry. I've written a whole lot more, so here's the next part. Enjoy!

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October 1981

"Harm, put that camera down! I mean it!" Mac warned. She was standing in the kitchen, trying to make a cake. Harm had been making photo's the entire day already and she was tired of it.

"You look cute with that flour all over you," he protested. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Mac sighed. "The fact that you think that I look cute, completely with an apron and flour all over me, doesn't mean you have to document it for the world to see."

"I never said that I was doing this for the world to see," Harm said. "I want to remember this in twenty years. Besides, you're pretty photogenic."

"Of course I am." Mac shook her head. "If you want to remember this, tuck it somewhere in your heart, Harm, don't go around making pictures every second of the day."

He nuzzled her neck. "I'm sorry, baby. Didn't mean to upset you."

She exhaled. "It's all right. There are just a million things I need to do before the party tonight, and you taking pictures isn't really helping right now."

"Okay." Harm let go of her. When she was preparing for a party, he knew better than to push her. "Can I help you with anything?"

Mac looked up from her recipe. "Can you see if Jack and Brit need any help setting up the tent? And go look if Mom is doing all right with the decorations."

"Sure thing." With one last squeeze in her arm, Harm went outside. Mac had been planning this get-together for almost a month, and now that it was _the_ day, she was all over the place. Him following her around wasn't really helping her to calm down, of course. "Jack? How's that tent coming?"

"Great, Harm." His brother sounded out of breath and short tempered. He was standing on a ladder, trying to pull the tent in the right direction. "Just stay out of the way and let me handle this."

Britney looked at Harm. "He's been trying to fix it for the past half hour. He's too stubborn to ask for help."

"I know. Holler if he hasn't fixed it ten minutes. I'll be able to get him down." Harm winked at a sighing Britney and went in search of Deanna. He found her at the back of the back yard, trying to lift some vases they needed for the decoration. "Deanna, let me have that. You should take it easy with your back."

Deanna surrendered. "She sent you?" she asked, referring to her daughter.

"And with good reason, obviously." Harm lifted three of the vases up. "You know what the doctor said about heavy lifting with your back."

Deanna rolled her eyes. "Of course I know." Then shook her head. "That doesn't mean that I like it."

"I bet," Harm laughed. "Where do you want these?"

Deanna pointed to the other side of the yard. "Can you put them over there? I need to wash them out and fill them with that stuff Sarah bought."

Harm carried the load to the sink, put them down and then went back to get the other three. When he came back, Deanna was already down on her haunches, washing them out. Harm shook his head, took the vase out of her hands and pushed her in the direction of a chair. "You go sit down, I'll get these. Mac doesn't want me in the kitchen anyway."

Gratefully, Deanna sank down in a chair. "Thanks, Harm."

He looked up to her. "No problem. It's your night, so you shouldn't be doing this in the first place."

Deanna leaned back in her chair. Mac had insisted on throwing her this "Get better"-party after she got released from the hospital. She'd had an accident over the summer and the doctors had had to operate on her back. She still wasn't her old self, but they all knew that it was going to take Jacke. While Deanna had been in the hospital, Mac had taken care of the house and Charlie, their Labrador, all the while still going to school and doing her homework.

"Harm?" Deanna asked.

Harm looked up. "Yes?"

Deanna looked at the house, then back at him. "Is Sarah all right? She hasn't said much since I came back from the hospital two weeks ago. All she says is that she's doing okay."

Harm took a kitchen towel and started to dry the vases. "I think Mac should tell you, Deanna. Not that I don't want to, but…"

"Of course. I just… I think she's trying to be strong for me, because of the operation and everything. I just want to make sure that she talks at all."

He grinned. "She talks. Don't worry about that. She just doesn't want you to worry about her while you're still recovering yourself." He put a dry vase on the table next to her. "The accident scared the hell out of her. For a moment she was sure that she was going to lose you. And then you lived, and that was a huge relief. Mac just wants to make sure that you have everything you need and that you're going to be okay. She'll get trough this overprotective phase."

The long hours they had waited in the hospital, not knowing if Deanna was going to live, had been murder on Mac. Harm had sat next to her, not being able to do anything beyond holding her and being there. He hadn't even known what to say. After the doctor came to tell them that everything was going to be all right, she had broken down, completely worn by all the nerves. Her relief had soon made place for determination. Mac was determined to let everything run as smoothly as possible. So she'd taken it upon herself to run the household, take care of Charlie and still do the other things that she needed to do. Without admitting it, she was exhausted.

"She's worn out, isn't she?" It wasn't a question as much as it was an observation.

Harm nodded. "Yeah, she is. Don't tell her that I said that." He swung the towel over his shoulder and looked in the direction of the house. "She'll be fine by the time she realizes that you're going to be fine."

Deanna nodded. "Yeah. I hope so."

Drying another vase, Harm winked at her. "Your daughter is a tough one, Deanna. She'll survive this."

"I know. I just wish she didn't have to go through this." She slightly shifted in her seat. "It's just the last couple of months of school, and she's been so busy with her play and everything… I always thought that she should be busy with her senior prom and enjoy the last few months of high school before going to college."

Harm sat down next to her. "She is enjoying it. I'm making sure that she doesn't worry too much." He leaned into her. "I'm going to tell you a little secret and you have to promise me that you won't tell another soul, okay?"

Deanna nodded. "What?"

"I've been helping her. We've done almost everything together the past couple of weeks."

For a while Deanna looked at him, biting her lower lip. "Is it safe to assume that you've been playing house?"

Harm shrugged. "Call it a preparation for something we want in the future."

He hadn't stayed over. He went home as late in the evening as possible and he came over as early as he could, but he hadn't stayed over. Other than that, they did everything together. Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning in the house, making sure that Deanna had everything she needed, taking care of Charlie…

Before Deanna could comment, Britney called. "Harm!"

Harm excused himself and ran over to his brother. "What's up?"

Britney pointed to Jack, who was still standing on the ladder. "I'm afraid that he's a few inches to short to do this, but he won't admit it. Could you please fix it before he does something stupid?"

Harm grinned at her. "No problem." He walked over to Jack, who was still struggling with the tent. "Jack! Get down here!"

Jack's flustered face emerged from under the fabric of the tent. "Harm! Seriously, I can handle this!"

"Nope," Harm shook his head. "I'm not gonna get you killed just because you're too stubborn to let me do this. Done. Get down here."

After shooting his brother and girlfriend a glare, Jack gave up and came down. He handed the tent to Harm. "If you're really sure that you can do this…"

Winking at Britney, Harm climbed up the ladder and put the tent into place. A few minutes later, everything was fine and Harm came down again. "You still okay, Jack? Your ego still intact?" he teased.

Harm rolled his eyes at him. "My ego is fine, _brother_." Despite everything, he had to laugh. "You go help Deanna with whatever it was you're helping her with, Brit and I'll finish up here."

"Thanks, Harm," Britney said.

Harm nodded, walking back in the direction of Deanna. "You're welcome."

Deanna looked up at him when he returned. She was silent for a while as Harm cleaned and dried the last of the vases. "So, the two of you are very serious about the future," she said, eventually.

For a while Harm only looked at her. "We've talked about it," he offered.

She shook her head. "You've done more than just talk about it. You said that this whole thing that you've been doing was a preparation for something you want in the future. That sounds pretty serious to me."

Putting the vase on the table, Harm sat down. "You want the truth?"

"I would appreciate the truth, yes."

"I love her." It was the first time Harm admitted it to anyone other than Mac or himself. "I love her more than anything else and I'm really planning to spend the rest of my life with her, come what may. And I know it's awfully early to say that, being seventeen and all, but I really do."

Silence settled over them. "Thank you for being honest with me," Deanna said. She rose, silently telling Harm that their conversation was over and that she had to think. "Could you bring them over to the table so that I can make them ready?"

After bringing the vases over and making sure that Jack and Britney didn't need any more help, Harm went back inside. He pulled himself up on a bar stool and watched Mac as she cleaned away the dishes. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. Her face fell when she noticed the expression on his face.

"What's the matter?" she asked, putting the bowl on the table and walking over to him.

"Nothing," Harm said.

Mac frowned. "Don't tell me nothing is the matter. You know I know you better than that."

He took her hands in his. "You know that this is it, right? That I'll never love anyone the way I love you? That I really want to spent the rest of my life with you? Have kids, grow old together, be everywhere you are?"

Mac swallowed. "I'd hoped something like that, yes…" Taking a deep breath she tried to get her bearing. "Where is this coming from?"

"You're not the only one who knows," Harm said softly.

When Mac looked confused, he continued. "Your mother asked how you were doing after everything in the past months and she said that she was worried that you had been doing too much, so I told her that we'd been doing pretty much everything together… She wanted to know how serious we are… I told her."

Mac rested her head against his. "Don't worry. She was going to find out at some point in the near future, anyway. Better to tell her now than in a year or so, when everything is different."

"Different?" Harm asked. "What do you mean, different?"

Mac shrugged. "We don't know what's gonna happen between now and then, right? We might be in college somewhere, or something else might have happened… I'd rather have Mom find out that we're going to be together now than to have her find out that we've eloped."

When Harm's eyes grew wide, she giggled. "I'm kidding. I don't really think that that's in the planning anytime soon." When Harm didn't respond, she nudged him. "Is it?"

"No," Harm shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not ready to propose to you yet."

Mac let her breath out. "Not that it would be a totally bad thing to officially be together, but not right now. We're not like Russ and Miranda."

"Isn't Miranda pregnant?" Harm asked.

She nodded. "Yes, she is. Her parents are making them get married before this school year is over."

"We're not going to get married before the school year is over."

Mac ran her hand through his hair. "We're not. We're going to enjoy our last year in high school and we are going to _love _our first year in college."

Harm grinned at her. "When you finally decide what you want to study, we could start enjoying our last year…"

"That's not nice!" Mac playfully slapped him. Looking at the clock, she went into overdrive. "Harm! It's late! We have to get ready!" She went over to the other side of the stove, leaving Harm sitting on the stool.

Harm shook his head. "Yeah, I'm coming…"

****

* * *

**TBC**


End file.
